Lamp reflector bowl



May 28, 1957 G. o. TRIER 2,194,115

LAMP REFLECTOR B/OWL Filed sept. 9, 1954 I 2 sheets-sheet 1 George QThe? May 28, 1957 G. o. TRIER 2,794,115

LAMP REFLECTOR' BOWL Filed Sept. 9, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 n fzdezznrGeozjge O. Trier Unite LAMP REFLECTR BOWL assignor to Rembrandt George0. Trier, Chicago, Ill.,

Ill., a corporation of Lamp Corporation, Chicago, Illinois ApplicationSeptember 9, 1951i, Serial No. 455,005 1 Claim. (Cl. 240--81) @tatesPatent a lamp rellector bowl so designed that the locating of a lampshade in its correct center position on the reector -bowlis'automatically and positively assured, and which enables such centerposition to be determined without the necessity of looking into the topof the reflector bowl or under the lamp shade.

A further object of the invention is to provide a lamp reector bowlwhich insures correct centering of a lamp shade having straight hangers,and one which enables the centering arrangement embodying my inventionto be economically incorporated in the reilector bowl as it is beingmolded or fabricated.

It is a still further object of my invention to provide an improved lampreflector bowl for the centering of a lamp shade which is adapted to beused with lamp shades having either three or four hangers in the lampshade frame.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description and the accompanying drawings in which similarcharacters of reference indicate similar parts, throughout the severalviews.

Referring `to the two sheets of drawings:

Fig. l is a fragmentary, elevational view, partly in section, of a lampassembly including a lamp rellector bowl embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the lamp assembly illustrated in Fig. 1,the view indicating by the dot and dash lines the utilization of amodified form of lamp shade with my improved lamp reiiector bowl.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view taken on a line 3 3 of Fig. 2, in thedirection of the arrows, and further illustrating attachment of a lampshade to my improved lamp reilector bowl.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view similar to that of Fig. 2 and showing thepositioning of, a modied form of lamp shade on my improved lampreflector bowl.

Having reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein severalembodiments of my invention are disclosed for illustrative purposes, itwill be Vseen that lamp assembly 10 includes a lamp reector bowl 11having a bowl-like reector body 12 of suitable shape and design. A loweropen end 13 of the reilector bowl 11 is receivedl within a lamp socket14 and held securely therein by means of set screws 16, the set screwsextending through rim 17 of the lamp socket and in threaded engagementtherewith. The lamp socket is aiixed to the upper end of a .2,794,115VPatented May 28, 1957 "ice lamp post 18 and the electrical circuitthereto is controlled by means of switch (not shown) operated by knob19. A lamp bulb 21 is threaded into the lamp socket 14 and extendsupwardly into the reflector bowl 11.

vThe lamp assembly 10 includes a frusto-conical lamp shade 22 comprisinga wire lamp frame 23 giving form to both a lower opening 24 and an upperopening 26 of the lamp shade, the frame including the usual verticalribs (not shown) extending between the openings for rigidity andstrength. A shade covering 27 of fabric, parchment, paper, or othersuitable material is stretched over and ailixed to the lamp frame.Across the upper opening Zoot the lamp shade are hangers 28 which aregenerally made of a relatively heavy wire such as that used in the lampframe 23. The hangers ordinarily are brazed or otherwise secured to thatportion of the lamp frame forming the upper opening of the lamp shadeand extend radially from the lamp frame inwardly across the upperopening 26 toward a center hub ring 29 to which they are rigidlysecured. As shown in Figs. l and 2, each of the hangers 28 is providedwith a projecting keeper` bend 31 adjacent to the juncture of the hanger28 with the lamp frame 23 around the upper opening 26, the distancebetween diametrically opposed bends being slightly -greater than theoutside diameter of the bowl. The lamp shade 22 is supported on the lampby resting on the` upper open edge 32 of the reflector bowl 11.

Where the lamp shade is to be used with a reiiector bowl as has beendescribed, the hangers 28 serve both to maintain the lamp frame andcovering in their proper location relative to the upper opening 26 andto support the lamp shade on the rellector bowl. As shown in Fig. 2, thelamp shade 22 is provided with four equally spaced hangers A, B, C, andD, extending radially inwardly from the wire frame 23 and meeting at thecentral hub ring 29. Each of these hangers is substantiallyperpendicular to its two adjoining hangers so that the hangers dividethe circular opening 26 into four quadrants. A lamp shade utilizing fourhangers is relatively rigid, will retain its shape, and be readilysupported on the reflector bowl.

The use of three hangers in a lamp shade is indicated in Fig. 2 by thedotted lines designated as X and Y with the third hanger being thatshown by the solid lines designated as A. Such hangers are equiangularlyspaced from each other so that each hanger forms an angle of degreeswith respect to its adjacent hanger. This triangular arrangement impartsa pleasing appearance to the lamp shade and provides adequate rigidityand maintenance of shape with the greatest possible economy ofmaterials.

Hitherto, the centering of a lamp shade on a reector bowl type of lamphas been accomplished by setting the lamp shade on the reflector bowl sothat al1 of the projecting keeper bends 31 of the hangers are outside ofthe reilector bowl, the keeper bends being located along the hangers toprovide a central area for the reflector bowl. To center a lamp shade bythis method, it is generally necessary to look over the top of the lampshade and into the reilector bowl or to look under the lamp shadethrough the lower opening 24 so as to observe the position ofV thekeeper bends with respect to upper edge 32 of the reilector bowl.Otherwise, one or more of the keeper bends may be inadvertently placedinside of the reflector bowl so that the lamp shade will be horizontaland level and yet not be centered on the bowl. This, of course, is notonly displeasing in appearance but also tends eventually to cause thelamp shade to deteriorate by reason of excessive heat caused by itsproximity to the rellector bowl as well as creating a possible `firehazard in the case of an unusually powerful lamp.

To insure automatic and precise centering of the lamp 3 shade on thereflector bowl with a minimum of time and effort, the reflector bowlembodying my invention is provided with a plurality of notches 33 alongthe upper edge 32 of the reflector body 12. The notches 33. are of awidth slightly greater than the diameter of the hangers 28 and are ofsuilicient depth to retain the hangers conveniently within the notches,generally adepth of approximately half of the diameter of the wirehanger being suicient for this purpose. The notches may be economicallyformed in the upper edge 32 during fabrication or molding of thereilector bowl..

The notches 33 are equally spaced around the upper edge 32 of thereflector bowl and are at least as. many in number as the hangersutilized in the lamp Shade. Thus, in the case of a lamp shade havingfour hangers, a centering pattern of at least four notches 33 isprovided around upper edge 32, such notches being spaced 90 degrecsapart for registration with and reception of the lamp shade hangers A,B, C, and D. In the case of a lamp shade utilizing three hangers, acentering pattern of at least three notches is provided around the upperedge 32 of the reflector bowl, such notches being 120 degrees apart forregistration and reception of thelamp shade hangers X, Y, and A.

For purposes of convenience and appearance it may be desirable toincorporate a greater number of notches 33 in the reflector bowl thanthe required minimum. Thus, with a lamp shade having four hangers, thenotches 33 may be in the number of a multiple of four, that is, four,eight, twelve, sixteen, or more. In the case of a lamp shade havingthree hangers, the notches may be in the number of a multiple of three,that is, three, six, nine, twelve, fteen, or more. The use of a greaternumber of notches than the required minimum not only tends to give apleasing, serrated appearance to the upper edge 32 of the reflectorbowl, but also enables the lamp shade hangers to bc more easilyregistered with and received by their appropriate centering patternbecause of the greater number of such patterns available.

It is an important feature of my invention to provide notches 33 aroundthe upper edge 32 so that the reilector bowl is adapted to accommodatelamp shades having either three hangers or four hangers across the upperopening 26 of the lamp shade. This is done by incorporating notches 33around the upper edge 32 in the number ofa multiple of both three andfour, such as, twelve, twenty-four, thirty-six, etc. Where the upperedge of the reflector bowl has twelve equally spaced notches, a threehanger lamp shade has four centering patterns available and a fourhanger lamp shade has three centering patterns available for use in theproper positioning of the lamp shade on the reflector bowl. While twelvenotches is the minimum number to accommodate both a three and a fourhanger lamp shade, a further multiple of twelve such as, for example,twenty-four, gives an additional number of centering patterns andthereby facilitates registration and reception of the hangers. Thecentering patterns, however, are preferably of a sufllciently smallnumber to enable positive registration to be made with the lamp shadehangers.

In the centering of a four hanger lamp shade on my improved rcllectorbowl having twelve equally spaced notches as shown in Fig. 2, the lampshade is placed over the lamp with the hangers 28 resting on the upperedge 32 of the reflector bowl. In such position, of course, the hangers23 are not necessarily registered with any one of the centering patternsprovided and, therefore, the lamp shade is slid or turned slightlyaround the rellector bowl until two opposite hangers have been receivedby opposed notches. Further movement of the lamp shade along the lengthof these hangers will cause the other two hangers to be registered inthe appropriate notches. Prel cise centering of the lamp shade on thereflector bowl is automatically assured when the hangers have beenreceived by one of the centering patterns and the lamp shade ishorizontal and level on the reflector bowl. If desired, the sides ofeach of the notches 33 may be beveled slightly to facilitate adjustmentof the lamp shade.

My improved reflector bowl may be utilized with lamp shades of variousshapes and design. Thus, round, oval, square, rectangular, and othershapes may be embodied in a lamp shade usable with my reflector bowl.Such varying forms of lamp shades are, of course, supported on thereflector bowl by hangers extending across the upper opening of the lampshade. As illustrated in Fig. 4, a lamp shade 34 of oval shape includesfour equally spaced hangers 2@ extending across the reflector bowl andregistered with and received by a centering pattern of four equallyspaced notches 33 around the upper edge 32 of the reflector bowl.

With the use of my improved reflector bowl, it is not necessary that thelamp shade hangers 28 include keeper bends 31 inasmuch as properpositioning of the lamp shade is provided by the centering patternindependently of such keeper bends. Where the lamp shade hangers includesuch keeper bends, the latter must necessarily be` located around theoutside of the rellector bowl after the lamp shade has beeny correctlypositioned. My improvedaround the upper edge 32 so as to register withand receive the hangers ofthe lamp shade.

Itis understood that lamp shade hangers having keeper bends of the typeillustrated herein may be used with ordinary smooth-rimmed reflectorbowls as well as with the notched-rim bowls of this invention, and thatmany existing lamp shades may be used without modification with the saidnotched-rirn bowls, so that perfect interchangeability of shades isretained in the present invention.

While I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention, manymodifications may be made without departing from the spirit of theinvention, and I do not wish to be limited to thev precise details ofconstruction set forth, but desire to avail myself of all changes Withinthe scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of theUnited States is:

Shade mounting meansfor a plurality of types of lampshade frames havinga hub memberanda peripheral member larger than and coaxial, with saidhub member, one said type of lamp-shade frame having three hangers andanother said type having four hangers, said hangers of all of said typesextending radially of the common axis ofY and secured to the hub andperipheralmembers and being equi-spaced about that common axis, saidshade mounting means comprising a reflector bowl having an open upperend of a size intermediate the sizes of said hub and peripheral members,said bowl having a plurality of notches in the upper edge thereof,equi-spaced peripherally of said bowl and corresponding in number to acommon multiple of the numbers of said hangers iny said types of frames,said notches being adapted to receive the hangers of any selected one ofsaid frames for releasably holding the selected frame in coaxialrelationship with and on said bowl and preventing rotation of that framerelative to said bowl.

Baker May 27, 1924 Levy Dec. 31, 1935

